Teckchandani Taylor A, Neary J Patrick, Andrews Katie L, Maguire Kirby Q, Jamshidi Laleh, Nisbet Jolan, Shields Robyn E, Afifi Tracie O, Sauer-Zavala Shannon, Lix Lisa M, Krakauer Rachel L, Asmundson Gordon J G, Krätzig Gregory P, Carleton R Nicholas
Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment-Institut Canadien de Recherche et de Traitement en Sécurité Publique (CIPSRT-ICRTSP), University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada.
Faculty of Kinesiology & Health Studies, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2023 Sep 27;14:1144783. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1144783. eCollection 2023.
The current study examined variations in cardioautonomic lability during the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Cadet Training Program (CTP) between cadets starting their training who did or did not screen positive for one or more mental health disorders (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], major depressive disorder [MDD], social anxiety disorder [SAD], generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], panic disorder [PD], alcohol use disorder [AUD]).
Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals integrated into Hexoskin garments were used to record ECG and heart rate Over the 26-week CTP. There were 31 heart rate variability (HRV) parameters calculated using Kubios Premium HRV analysis software. Mann-Whitney -tests were used to perform groupwise comparisons of participant raw values and HRV during the CTP.
A total of 157 cadets (79% male) were screened for any mental disorder using self-report surveys and then grouped by positive and negative screening. Analyses indicated a statistically significant ( < 0.05) decrease in low frequency (LF): High Frequency (HF) variability during CTP, but only for cadets who endorsed clinically significant anxiety symptoms on the GAD-7 at the start of their training. There were no other statistically significant groupwise differences.
The results indicate the participants have excellent cardiac health overall and suggest potentially important differences between groups, such that cadets who endorsed clinically significant anxiety symptoms on the GAD-7 showed less variability in the LF:HF ratio over the course of the CTP. The relatively lower variability suggests decreased parasympathetic tone in those without clinically significant anxiety symptoms. The results also have important implications for future investigations of cardioautonomic dysfunction and chronic hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis deviations in policing populations with anxiety disorders; specifically, cardioautonomic inflexibility related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In any case, the current results provide an important baseline for future cardiac research with cadets and serving officers.
本研究调查了加拿大皇家骑警学员培训计划（CTP）期间，开始培训时筛查出一种或多种心理健康障碍呈阳性（即创伤后应激障碍[PTSD]、重度抑郁症[MDD]、社交焦虑障碍[SAD]、广泛性焦虑障碍[GAD]、惊恐障碍[PD]、酒精使用障碍[AUD]）的学员与未呈阳性的学员之间心脏自主神经易变性的差异。
在为期26周的CTP期间，使用集成在Hexoskin服装中的心电图（ECG）信号记录心电图和心率。使用Kubios Premium HRV分析软件计算了31个心率变异性（HRV）参数。采用曼-惠特尼检验对CTP期间参与者的原始值和HRV进行组间比较。
共有157名学员（79%为男性）通过自我报告调查进行了任何精神障碍筛查，然后按筛查阳性和阴性分组。分析表明，CTP期间低频（LF）：高频（HF）变异性有统计学显著下降（<0.05），但仅针对培训开始时在广泛性焦虑障碍量表（GAD-7）上认可有临床显著焦虑症状的学员。没有其他统计学显著的组间差异。
结果表明参与者总体心脏健康状况良好，并表明各组之间可能存在重要差异，即在CTP过程中，在GAD-7上认可有临床显著焦虑症状的学员在LF：HF比值上的变异性较小。相对较低的变异性表明无临床显著焦虑症状者的副交感神经张力降低。这些结果对未来焦虑症警察人群中心脏自主神经功能障碍和慢性下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴偏差的研究也具有重要意义；具体而言，与心血管发病率和死亡率相关的心脏自主神经灵活性降低。无论如何，目前的结果为未来对学员和在职警官进行心脏研究提供了重要基线。
